Understanding parenting stress and enhancing adoptive parenting

• Main Author: Harris-Waller, Jayne H. J.
• Published: University of Oxford 2012
• Subjects: 306.874
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.589460

Parenting stress is a common form of psychological distress, which has negative effects on parents and children. Adoptive parents face additional challenges related to the experience of parenting a child with adverse early experiences. The first paper presents a systematic review which found mixed evidence for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for adoptive parents. The evidence reviewed was found to be subject to multiple potential biases. Therefore, more methodologically sound intervention research is indicated before firm recommendations can be made regarding clinical practice with adoptive parents. Implications for future research are discussed, with reference to the unique contextual challenges of conducting intervention research with adoptive families. The second paper presents an empirical study of relations between parenting stress, parental mind-mindedness, the valence of parental representations of children, and child behaviour variables. The online questionnaire study employed a British community sample of adoptive and biological parents. Results drew attention to the importance of parental cognitions and child behaviour difficulties, particularly insecure attachment- related behaviour, in understanding parenting stress. Theoretical implications for parenting stress and mind-mindedness are discussed, alongside implications for clinical practice and directions for future research